The present disclosure relates to an article of footwear and, more particularly, relates to a method of knitting opposing sides of an article of footwear.
Knitted components having a wide range of knit structures, materials, and properties may be utilized in a variety of products. As examples, knitted components may be utilized in apparel (e.g., shirts, pants, socks, jackets, undergarments, footwear), athletic equipment (e.g., golf bags, baseball and football gloves, soccer ball restriction structures), containers (e.g., backpacks, bags), and upholstery for furniture (e.g., chairs, couches, car seats). Knitted components may also be utilized in bed coverings (e.g., sheets, blankets), table coverings, towels, flags, tents, sails, and parachutes. Knitted components may be utilized as technical textiles for industrial purposes, including structures for automotive and aerospace applications, filter materials, medical textiles (e.g. bandages, swabs, implants), geotextiles for reinforcing embankments, agrotextiles for crop protection, and industrial apparel that protects or insulates against heat and radiation. Accordingly, knitted components may be incorporated into a variety of products for both personal and industrial purposes.
Knitting may be generally classified as either weft knitting or warp knitting. In both weft knitting and warp knitting, one or more yarns are manipulated to form a plurality of intermeshed loops that define a variety of courses and wales. In weft knitting, which is more common, the courses and wales are perpendicular to each other and may be formed from a single yarn or many yarns. In warp knitting, however, the wales and courses run roughly parallel and one yarn is required for every wale.
Although knitting may be performed by hand, the commercial manufacture of knitted components is generally performed by knitting machines. An example of a knitting machine for producing a weft knitted component is a V-bed flat knitting machine, which includes two needle beds that are angled with respect to each other. Rails extend above and parallel to the needle beds and provide attachment points for feeders, which move along the needle beds and supply yarns to needles within the needle beds.